Leviticus 21:8-18

8 And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thy God doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy.

9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burned with fire.

10 And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments.

11 Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother;

12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a dishonoured one, a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take as wife a virgin from among his peoples.

15 And he shall not profane his seed among his peoples; for I am Jehovah who do hallow him.

16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any of thy seed throughout their generations that hath any defect, shall not approach to present the bread of his God;

18 for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other,

Leviticus 21:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 21

This chapter respects the priests, the sons of Aaron, and forbids their mourning for the dead, unless in some cases, Le 21:1-6; or their marriage with an whore or a divorced woman, Le 21:7,8; and the daughters of any of them to commit fornication, which is made punishable with death, Le 21:9; and it contains particular laws for the high priest to observe, who was not to mourn for any, even for his parents, Le 21:10,11; nor to go out of the sanctuary, Le 21:12; nor to marry any woman but a virgin, Le 21:13-15; and it also directs, that none of the priests having any blemish in them should be employed in divine service, though they might eat of the holy things, Le 21:16-24.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'dishonour.'
• [b]. As ch. 4.12.
• [c]. Lit. 'the priest who is greater than his brethren.'
• [d]. Ex. 28.41.
• [e]. Lit. 'separation' or 'consecration,' as throughout Num. 6: 'diadem,' Ex. 29.6; Lev. 8.9.